


To Err

by alexanderlightweight



Series: Tumblr Prompts [4]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Angst, Drunken Confessions, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Injuries, Unresolved Emotional Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 13:40:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20725103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexanderlightweight/pseuds/alexanderlightweight
Summary: Alex has two loves, danger and the dangerous.





	To Err

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you @thougtsofadyingatheist for the lovely prompt! This took far longer than it had a right too but I was very excited to write it, it took a little different turn than I expected and I hope you like it!!
> 
> Prompt: “At least you’ll die doing what you love; Walking into danger.”

“At least you’ll die doing what you love. Walking into danger.” Kyle griped as he finished cleaning out the deep laceration on Alex’s ribs. 

The door to Isobel’s backyard, because since Max had died they’d started to use her home as a safe middle ground, slammed shut and Alex clenched his teeth. Not from pain but from knowing what was coming next. If Kyle hadn’t currently been stitching him up, he would have kicked him.

“What the hell happened?” Michael asked and the house gave a deceptively gentle tremor. 

Kyle winced and mouthed a soft ‘sorry’ to Alex but apologies were useless now. 

“A miscalculation,” Alex said at the same time that Kyle blurted out “shrapnel.”

There was one very long, incredulous moment of silence and Alex lost it, “what happened to doctor-patient confidentiality, Kyle?” And when both men gave him an equally unimpressed and unamused glare, added, “also it was _miscalculated_ shrapnel. The point was to _not_ have shrapnel, then I miscalculated.” 

“What were you working on that a miscalculation meant shrapnel?” Liz asked, because of course Michael hadn’t been alone when he arrived and Alex was just about done with everything. In fact, he was making a vow of silence. Which meant that he wasn’t talking and since Kyle had already thrown him under the bus, he could return the favor and let the doctor fix this damage as well.

After Alex’s silence had stretched on for too long, Kyle neatly tied off his last stitch and removing his gloves, looked at the group. 

“We’ve been going through the data that we managed to get from Caulfield,” he paused, a moment of respect for the lives lost that day, “and we’d found a few other possible locations. Our concern has been going in too-“ and Kyle paused. “The systems for Caulfield were archaic but with just enough new tech and coding that they were also very delicate. We’ve been working on reconstructing the self-destruct mechanisms. If we’re operating on the assumption that these other sites would similarly linked, we want to make sure we have ways of shutting them down.”

There was an unspoken vow that lingered between them all. That what had happened at Caulfield would not, _could not,_ happen again. 

“So you’ve been recreating the system with the purpose of figuring out all the fail-safes and how to shut them down?” Michael asked and his voice was tight, “and you didn’t think to, I don’t know. _Ask_ any of the people with actual powers to help?”

“Your powers didn’t work in Caulfield, not like they were supposed to.” Alex said, breaking his self-imposed silence. “There was some kind of alloy all throughout the facility that I don’t have access too. They had enough time to figure out how to weaken your people and their gifts. Doing it this way made the most sense.”

“Right. Which is how that,” Michael gestured sardonically to Alex’s chest and never before had Alex wished more for a shirt, “happened.”

“As I said, I miscalculated.” 

“_Actually_, you said it was unstable, waited until I was in the jeep and then attempted to-” Kyle paused from where he’d started packing up his medical kit, “nevermind. That part is completely unimportant. There’s no permanent damage and Alex hasn’t lost any more limbs.” 

Alex rolled his eyes at Kyle’s smirk and added, “the good news is I figured out a way around the trigger point that caused this, so win-win.” 

-

Michael wasn’t sure which part was worse. The fact that Alex and Valenti were still clearly spending a lot of time together, the fact that they were keeping everyone else in the dark while doing dangerous experiments, or the fact that they were at ease enough to have a mutual sense of morbid humor that flowed smoothly between them. To paraphrase Max who had no doubt been quoting someone else at the time, he found it ‘quite fucking irksome’.

“Right well, seeing as Isobel is almost here I’m going to get us something to drink while you finish cleaning that up,” Liz said, clearly sensing that Michael was near his breaking point. “Mikey, care to join me?” 

He grunted a response, not even bothering to playfully snap back at the nickname. Inside Isobel’s kitchen he flung the fridge open, calling a beer to himself and opening it before it even reached his hand. 

“You want to talk about it?” Liz asked softly, grabbing down both a bottle of tequila and acetone from the shelf. “You seemed pretty close to losing it out there with your powers, that’s not like you.”

Michael shrugged and accepted both of the shots she offered. “Long month, long damn year even longer fucking life. I definitely don’t want to talk about it.”

-

Michael would be the first to deny that he spent the rest of the evening in a mixture of glowering and sulking. Alex stuck to sipping a single beer for most of the night while Valenti actually deigned to relax and try to match Isobel for shots. Liz had been convinced to let loose for one night -a mental break from her desperate need to find a way to save Max- and was out with both Maria and Rosa. Somehow that had turned into him watching Isobel taunt Valenti into another shot while Alex laughed at them from the couch. 

Meanwhile Michael was pacing himself, cutting his alcohol with acetone and ice and sipping on it. He needed to keep a clear head with Alex this close. It was hard not to go to him here, in a place they didn’t have to hide any of their history, seeing him soft with laughter and at the same time knowing he was hurt. Michael wanted to even out the past between them just enough so that they could finally stand without a chasm between them.

Instead, he had to watch as Valenti made inside jokes with Alex that Isobel quickly caught onto, had to watch them laugh and smile and see Alex lean into casual touches that Michael had once coveted. In another lifetime he’d have been filled with joy, knowing that Alex finally had people who would touch him without hurting him, instead Michael found himself yearning for even just another one of their long lost, stolen moments. 

Instead, he had to make due with the way that every so often, their gaze would meet and Alex’s face would tighten as he hid away just enough emotion to make him unreadable. 

Michael hated it. 

It was both worse and better once Iz convinced Alex to take a few shots. He didn’t do many, but it was enough to leave him loose limbed and relaxed as he sunk into the armchair. It was also enough for Isobel to leave to her room. Michael had already been planning on staying in the guest-room Iz had designated for him or Max. Valenti was dozing on couch when Michael knelt next to the chair and reaching out, gently tapped Alex’s arm.

“Come on there Private, let’s get you to a bed before you fall asleep here.” 

“I’m good,” Alex mumbled, bleary and uncoordinated as he reached for a crutch that wasn’t there and then groaning when he overextended his reach, arm going to cradle his side. 

“Valenti was right, you are going to die doing what you love.” It came out a little harshly but Michael was just so tired of everyone he loved in pain.

“Oh, so your name is danger now?” Alex muttered haughtily, swaying slightly and oblivious to how Michael’s breath hitched at his admission.

“Alex,” Michael said softer than his previous accusation and Alex swayed again.

“I don’t,” he blinked, “I don’t think I should have taken Isobel up on those shots.” He slurred and then looked down at the floor, it was spinning. It took him a moment, Michael’s voice an unintelligible and white noise around him. “D-did Kyle drug me?” His voice raised in betrayed accusation and he let himself fall back against the couch.

“Actually Liz did before she left,” Michael said. “She did make sure they were safe to mix with alcohol.” 

“I see who my true friends are,” Alex bit out and flopped his hand in Michael’s direction, “never thought I’d say that about Kyle. Not after high school.”

“Still can’t believe you forgave him,” Michael said and sighed when Alex didn’t answer, just blinked, “oh for, alright Private. This way, come on. Iz offered up her guest-room.” 

“Not the army,” was muttered against his ear and Michael was thankful that Alex was too out of it to feel the way he shivered when they connected. Michael’s arm supported Alex as he led him to the room and helped him to bed. 

“When are you going to stop walking headfirst into danger and not caring about how anyone else is going to feel about it?” Michael asked, keeping his voice soft enough that Alex’s brow furrowed in confusion. It was a surprise when Alex surged up, knocking their foreheads together none-too-gently. It surprised more than hurt Michael but Alex gave a wounded little, ‘ouch’ before flopping onto his side and burrowing his forehead against the soft pillow. 

“What was that?”

“Headfirst into danger,” Alex mumbled into the linens, “night danger.”

As Alex drifted into whatever sleep he managed, he left Michael staring at him -healed hand pressed shakily to his chest as he tried to imagine if a future was possible for them.

-

“Well, that went better than it should have,” Kyle admitted the next morning as they left Isobel’s. He still felt off and it was only due to years of working on far too little sleep that he’d managed to pull himself together, that and blessed electrolytes. 

“Speak for yourself,” Alex said with a side-glare as he pulled out his tablet. 

“Oh, you mean your little confession? I’d say Guerin looked star-struck, but that could have also been the result of whatever minor concussion you gave him.” 

“And to think, I told Michael you were the only friend I could trust.” Alex was teasing, Kyle knew that but he took a moment at the stop sign to look over at his friend. 

“As someone you trust, you’re sure you want to go through with this?” Kyle asked and shook his head when Alex turned with a little smirk, “don’t deflect this onto me. I’ll be fine whatever the outcome but you saw how upset he was about you being hurt. If this goes wrong, how do you think he’ll react?”

Alex stayed silent for a moment, long enough that Kyle had to start driving again. 

“I think,” Alex sighed, “_I know-_ that Michael would want to come with us, again. That Isobel and and Liz and possibly even Rosa and Maria would get involved. I also know that they’re civilians. All the alien powers in the world mean nothing if they can’t stay calm and work under pressure. It’s not a risk we can afford to take.”

“I hate that you’re right.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr as [alexanderlightweight](https://alexanderlightweight.tumblr.com) if you want to leave a Malex prompt or something. I'll be taking prompts for a little while to distract me from what I'm actually supposed to be doing. Also this took a lot longer than it should have to post here so oops.


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